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Dec 4, 2014

A special morning activity was held at Royal Vale school in Montréal to commemorate Alex Porter-Rozmovitz, a young Royal Vale student who passed away 5 years ago. I was honoured to be the special guest to lead an energetic group of 400+ elementary school kids in a fun, upbeat dance party to kick the day off! What a great way to celebrate Alex!

That's not all though. The special guest had a special guest! My "little" friend Georges Laraque came out and surprised all of the children, joining in on our crazy action-filled "warm-up song" (which is a fond memory of my preschool days ;)) and helped to lead our fun dance party with some impressive steps. Georges, you've got the moves, my friend!

Lex Albrecht and Georges Laraque leading the Dance for Alex, at Royal Vale School in Montréal, Québec

Post dance-party, some lucky Royal Vale students who happened to be in phys-ed class got some extra excitement... and some big air, with Georges Laraque! That looks fun!

It was special to be able to share my own story of the challenges and amazing rewards of being a professional athlete, and the loss of my own little sister when I was young with the students. Thank you to Royal Vale School, and to Alex's family for inviting us to be a part of this special day! See you again soon.

Nov 17, 2014

#LEXvsLARAQUE ended up being even more "exciting" than we bargained for.

Snow was falling, the air was cold, but the anticipation and excitement of #LEXvsLARAQUE was energizing! Georges blasted off of the start line with a huge effort. I followed, hoping that he wouldn't hold his pace for too long. Otherwise, the climb was going to be a lot more painful than I had planned for. To my surprise, several hundred meters later where false-flat section began, and where Georges should have had the greatest advantage, he had already fallen behind.

I won fair and square in the cold and snowy race up the Mont Royal. The gap was so big that I decided to go back down and finish George's final few hundred meters with him ... so I could win twice. I pulled out some good sportsmanship spirit and encouraged Georges. Then, punched it over the finish line ahead of him, again.

Photo : Guy Maguire

George's huge effort left him totally exhausted, so much that he wasn't responding to anybody once he crossed the finish line. After a couple of minutes, I was quite scared and flagged down an ambulance. (I wanted to beat him, not kill him!)

Nov 13, 2014

It's ON! Are you in the Montréal area? Come out to see a true battle go down this weekend.

What's that saying about "picking on people your own size"? Georges Laraque is probably 4 times bigger than me, is an adamant proponent of vegan-ism, and has an impressive 13 year NHL career that he finished off with the Montréal Canadiens in the bank.

He is also convinced that he can beat me in a cycling race in Montréal.... Game on. I'm up for the challenge.

Georges and I are going to see who's truly the fastest this Sunday November 16. We'll be racing from the base of Mont Royal's Camilien Houde climb. Who do you think will win? Let us know on Twitter (@Lex_Albrecht and @GeorgesLaraque) using hashtag #LEXvsLARAQUE

Where : Camilien Houde. Start : Just after the final set of lights at the base of Camillien Houde Finish : Crest of Camillien Houde (marked by a while line across the road). When : Sunday, November 16, 2014. 10 am. (show up early, around 9:30-9:45!)

Nov 6, 2014

I'm excited to announce that I've signed a new contract for 2015, with American trade team, Optum Pro Cycling presented by Kelly Benefits Strategies. I rode for Optum in 2012, my first year of professional cycling and I'm excited to return as a more experienced, and stronger rider. I'm eager to contribute to the team's exceptionally talented and strong roster :

Optum will compete on the professional circuit in the US and Canada, as well as in Europe - where they had considerable success the past 2 seasons since their European program was launched. Being a member of a trade team with a European program was a very important element that I was seeking for 2015, and I feel fortunate to have the chance to be a part of Optum Pro Cycling presented by Kelly Benefits Strategies in part for this reason. Optum has an excellent group of respectable, knowledgeable and motivated people running the team, as well as a knack for creating rosters with super good chemistry - which makes all the difference during race season. The strong group of sponsors and supporters behind the team also helps make Optum the highly reputable and successful team that it is, and I'm so glad to say that I'll be a part of it next year.

January 2012 : kicking off my first professional season with Optum Pro Cycling. I'm so excited to be returning for 2015!

I will continue to be based in Montréal, Québec, and train at the PowerWatts Premier Studio in Montréal.

With two of my TWENTY16 teammates, Greta and Abby. What an awesome season!

I am grateful to have had the chance to ride with TWENTY16 Pro Cycling for 2014. The opportunities they provided during 2014 were second to none, and the moral and material support that they gave to me and all of their athletes was always top-notch. During the highest parts of the season, and the lowest. Thank you for your consistant support and patience when I needed it (early season concussion and late season illness). I am proud to have been a part of a program that has played an essential role in winning Olympic medals and World Championship titles. It was an emotionally difficult decision to have chosen to step away for 2015, but I continue to have the utmost respect for the program, sponsors, riders, and especially the management and staff of TWENTY16. Thank you for an exceptional year...I feel like it changed me as a bike rider and as an individual for good, and for the better!

This past summer I started baking my own snacks for the bike to go along
with my classic Clif choices. I discovered this recipe while on a 3
week training block in Tahoe. Here's a recipe for simple banana-oatmeal
bite-sized cookies that are easy to make, and perfect to eat on long
rides. Give it a shot!

This recipe requires a Vitamix - traditional blenders aren't strong enough. Don't have one yet? Visit Vitamix and use coupon code 06-009501 for free shipping, or click on the link below to get a deal on a refurbished model!

Sep 30, 2014

I'm home resting in Montréal after a rock-and-roll World Championship Race (see what happened HERE , with a video).

Earning a spot on the Canadian National Team's roster was particularly difficult this year. I was happy to learn that I had been in the World Championship selection pool for the 4th time in my career. Several weeks later however, I learned that I did not make the final selection. I appealed Cycling Canada's decision, and after losing went through an arbitration process.